1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to cable, and more particularly, pertains to a flat flexible wire cable.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Those concerned with cable for interconnecting two spaced pluralities of terminals such as between circuit boards have long recognized the need for a flexible wire circuit.
The prior art cables have been unsatisfactory in that the older prior art cables comprised a plurality of insulated wire conductors physically bonded together. Other prior art cables are comprised of a plurality of spaced conductors laminated between longitudinal sheets of insulation such as plastic which provided little flex in addition to being cumbersome and awkward. These prior art cables are denoted as ribbon cables in the art which generally are coiled onto rolls containing in excess of one hundred feet of cable. This prior art cable made wiring between two spaced pluralities of terminals of circuit boards in an electronic installation awkward as it was necessary to cut the desired length of the cable, separately strip each individual wire conductor, and physically connect each individual wire conductor to each terminal of either the circuit board or to connector. The prior art flat cables permitted little flexing of any of the wire conductors of the cable thereby making subsequent soldering to either circuit boards and terminals difficult.
The prior art cables also failed to provide a solder stop for each individual wire conductor and as a consequence, the integrity of the cable was affected during the soldering process by the presence of hot molten solder. Usually, the temperature of soldering process was in excess of the breakdown temperature of the cable insulation and consequently, the wire conductors moved within the cable insulation causing short circuits against adjacent conductors. This was very unsatisfactory.
The prior art cables also have very minimum flexing at the wire conductor end of the cable which was soldered to the circuit board or the terminals. The flexing point for each wire conductor was very distinct resulting in breakage and difficulty in fastening each of the wire conductors, and provided no controlled flexing of the wire conductors at the end of the cable.
The present invention provides a flexible wire cable that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art cables.